Former Saints DE Will Smith Killed Saturday Night
Former Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot and killed in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans late Saturday night, according to Wilborn P. Nobles III of The Times-Picayune. More details were provided by CBSNews.com, which reported that Smith’s Mercedes SUV was rear-ended by a Hummer H2, and the impact caused Smith’s SUV to rear-end the vehicle in front of him, driven by one of Smith’s friends.
At approximately 11:30pm, Smith exited his vehicle and began arguing with the driver of the Hummer, who has not yet been identified but who is reportedly 30 years old. The driver allegedly “unloaded a fusillade of bullets” at Smith and his vehicle–a witness said she heard six to eight gunshots–and Smith was ultimately found slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle, which appeared to have a bullet hole in the windshield.
Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith’s wife was shot in the leg multiple times, but is expected to survive. The driver of the Hummer and another person have been apprehended and are being questioned, and the gun used in the shooting has been recovered.
The Smith family has issued the following statement (Twitter link via Evan Woodberry of The Times-Picayune):
“On behalf of the Smith family, we are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers. We ask that you continue to respect the family’s privacy as they grieve the loss of a devoted husband, father, and friend.”
Smith was a highly productive player for the Saints after being selected by the club in the first round of the 2004 draft. The Ohio State product, who also excelled at the collegiate level, posted 67.5 career sacks, including double-digit sack totals in 2006–when he earned his first and only Pro Bowl nod–and 2009. He was also an integral part of the Saints’ Super Bowl run in 2009. He did sign on with the Patriots prior to the 2014 campaign, but he was released by New England before the regular season began.
We at PFR offer our thoughts and condolences to Smith’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Colin Kaepernick Notes: Sunday
There are significant differences of opinion as to how close the 49ers and the Broncos are to completing a Colin Kaepernick trade, but there is already a considerable amount of potential fallout to consider if the deal is ultimately consummated. Let’s have a look:
- Denver reportedly wants to pay Kaepernick $7MM of the $11.9MM he is guaranteed for 2016, with the 49ers kicking in the $4.9MM balance. As Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB.com reminds us, NFL teams cannot trade cash as a MLB or NBA team can. Instead, the Niners could turn part of Kaepernick’s salary into a signing bonus, pay it, and then trade him (Twitter link). If the 49ers were to go that route, the team would eat $12.29MM in dead cap room in 2016, per Spotrac (via Twitter). Although that is hardly an ideal scenario, it’s not as though the 49ers couldn’t afford it. According to Spotrac, the club has just shy of $57MM of cap space.
- Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk proposes a creative solution to the reported holdup in contract talks between the Broncos and Kaepernick. Florio suggests that Kaepernick should forfeit the $4.9MM difference between what he is owed and what Denver is willing to pay, and in exchange, Denver should wipe out the remaining four years of his “notoriously team-friendly contract.” Of course, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, while that solution has its merits, it would put the 2017 Broncos in the same position they are in right now. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com tweets that Kaepernick would certainly be justified in taking a paycut if the Broncos were willing to tear up the remainder of his contract.
- Of course, if Kaepernick ends up with the Broncos, Denver will need to make some tweaks to its current roster regardless of how much it ends up paying Kaepernick (after all, the club only has $1.62MM of salary cap room at present). As Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com writes, the team has to do something with Ryan Clady, and although the Broncos have been trying to trade Clady, interested clubs are not inclined to pull the trigger on a trade because they are fully aware of Denver’s tight financial situation. Instead, the Broncos may have to release their long-time left tackle in order to create $8.9MM of space. The Broncos could also release punter Britton Colquitt, thereby clearing over $3MM off the books, or they could convert the base salaries of some of the larger contracts on the team–like those for Demaryius Thomas, Aqib Talib, and Chris Harris–into signing bonuses, which would afford the team some 2016 cap relief.
- Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com says a Kaepernick trade would be highly beneficial for the Jets, because if the trade happens, Ryan Fitzpatrick will lose his last potential suitor (Denver) outside of the Jets. As such, Fitzpatrick would either have to accept New York’s “low-ball offer” of $7MM per year, or not play at all. Theoretically, San Francisco could be in the market for Fitzpatrick’s services if it deals Kaepernick, but there have been no substantive rumors regarding that possibility.
Patriots Rumors: Chung, Knighton, Gronk, Edelman
As most of the NFL world continues to be consumed by Colin Kaepernick rumors and draft talk, let’s take a look at some notes from the Patriots, who are quietly preparing to make a run at their eighth consecutive AFC East title:
- Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com weighs in on Patrick Chung‘s recent contract extension, observing that the Patriots took the $1.8MM that Chung was likely to earn in playing-time incentives in 2016 and 2017 and turned it into a $1.8MM signing bonus, along with an extra $600K. In return, Chung added one year to his contract, keeping him under club control through 2018. New England, as Reiss notes, frequently turns incentives into signing bonus money as part of a win-win strategy that makes the player happy by giving him upfront cash and makes the team happy by keeping a productive player in the fold for another season. The extension was therefore not, as some have suggested, a simple display of generosity on the part of the Patriots as a reward to Chung for a job well done; there are rarely any giveaways in Foxborough, and the Chung contract was no exception.
- In the same piece, Reiss opines that the one-year, $4.5MM deal Terrance Knighton recently inked with New England sounds a little high, given that the team was unwilling to make that kind of commitment for Akiem Hicks and Nick Fairley and consequently missed out on both players. Reiss believes that Knighton’s base pact is more likely to be closer to $2MM, with realistic incentives that could push it to $3MM and less realistic incentives that could max out at $4.5MM.
- Knighton is just the latest in a long list of defensive tackles who sign on with the Patriots in the latter stages of their careers hoping to rekindle or continue their success, as Christopher Price of WEEI.com writes. Keith Traylor, Ted Washington, Shaun Ellis, Albert Haynesworth, Andre Carter, Tommy Kelly, and Alan Branch have all landed with New England relatively late in their careers, and you can pretty much count on New England bringing at least one such player aboard every offseason.
- Just as the Patriots converted some of Chung’s incentives into a signing bonus, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe believes the team will likely do something similar in the near future with Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman. Volin writes that New England will probably take future base salaries for Edelman and Gronkwoski–both of whom are significantly underpaid when compared with the going market rate for their respective positions–and convert them into signing bonus money in an effort to keep them happy and focused.
- Volin does observe that the Patriots have already prepared for Gronkowski and Edelman to be at least little unhappy with their current deals. The contracts for both players call for $250K workout bonuses for attending 90% of the team’s offseason practices, by far the highest workout bonuses of any Patriots player, so if they were to protest their contracts by skipping offseason workouts, they would miss out on a fair amount of money.
Colin Kaepernick Trade Not Close?
A report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter yesterday indicated that the 49ers and Broncos had agreed to the parameters of a trade that would send Colin Kaepernick to the Broncos in exchange for a mid-round draft pick or two, with the only holdup being an agreement between Kaepernick and Denver on a reduced contract. However, subsequent reports from NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee indicated that the two teams do not, in fact, have the parameters of a deal in place, and that while a trade could certainly happen, there are still a number of hurdles to clear.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk concurs with Rapoport and Barrows, writing that, “the notion that the only thing keeping a deal from happening is a deal between the Broncos and Kaepernick on a reduced contract is…a ‘real stretch.'” Florio’s source says “someone” planted the news that trade talks are much further along than they actually are because that “someone” wants a deal to get done and believes that reports indicating a deal is close will provide the push necessary to make it happen.
But Schefter continues to stand by his original report that the trade compensation is a “non-issue” and that the only obstacle is Kaepernick’s contract. And, according to Schefter’s latest story, Kaepernick and the Broncos have made progress on most of the signal-caller’s contract, which runs through 2020, with the upcoming 2016 season being the only sticking point. Schefter writes that the Broncos are willing to pay $7MM of Kaepernick’s $11.9MM 2016 salary, which became fully guaranteed on Friday, but they would like San Francisco to pay the remaining $4.9MM, something the Niners are reportedly unwilling to do. Kaepernick, understandably, has no desire to simply forfeit that $4.9MM to make a deal work.
Clearly, there is some disagreement among some of the NFL’s most prominent writers as to the imminence of a Kaepernick trade. There are some scribes, like John McMullen of Today’sPigskin.com, who believe that Kaepernick should forfeit the $4.9MM in order to facilitate a deal and land on a contending club, which could increase his salary in the long run. As McMullen writes, “a give back by Kaepernick in the short-term could be taking the proverbial one step back to eventually take two forward because a rejuvenated career means more money on the back-end.” But if Schefter’s report that Kaepernick and Denver have more or less ironed out the final four years of the quarterback’s deal, then the premises of McMullen’s theory don’t necessarily hold up, and although Kaepernick clearly wants to get out of San Francisco, spending at least one season in Chip Kelly‘s offense would hardly be the worst thing for him from a football standpoint.
Like the rest of the football world, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Draft Notes: Cravens, Lawson, Hogan
Let’s round up some draft notes to close out this Tuesday evening:
- Contrary to prior reports, USC linebacker Su’a Cravens will not be holding any private workouts for interested clubs, according to agent Fadde Mikhail (article via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). Mikhail said, “There have been too many teams that have called to set up private workouts, and I think Su’a’s body of work on film speaks for itself.” Cravens played linebacker for much of 2015, but many teams view him as a safety at the next level, and he is seen as a late first-round or early second-round prospect. As Florio notes, the decision not to work out for teams is gradually becoming more popular with some agents, who believe the reward of potentially increased draft positioning does not justify the risk of an injury that could be sustained at a workout. Greg Gabriel of NFPost.com, however, disagrees with that line of thinking, as he thinks private workouts are a critical part of the draft process that allow a team to learn more about a player’s talent and personality. He adds that Mikhail’s decision will cause Cravens’ draft stock to drop (Twitter links).
- Clemson DE Shaq Lawson, who already has a number of visits/workouts lined up, will also visit with the Lions, according to Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press.
- The Eagles worked out Stanford QB Kevin Hogan, WR/TE Devon Cajuste, and LB Blake Martinez today, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter links).
- 16 teams showed up to watch LB Victor Ochi at Stony Brook’s pro day yesterday, per Pauline, who adds that the Colts privately worked out Illinois State running back Marshaun Coprich (post via WalterFootball.com).
- UCLA KR/WR Devin Fuller worked out for “multiple members of the Falcons braintrust” yesterday, according to Rand Getlin of The NFL Network (via Twitter).
- Minnesota CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun will visit with the Vikings next week, according to Darren Wolfson of KTSP (via Twitter).
- The Bengals were on hand at Western Kentucky’s pro day today to watch TE Tyler Higbee, as Robert Klemko of SI.com tweets.
- Temple CB Tavon Young will work out for the Cardinals, Jets, Titans, and Ravens, and will visit the Steelers and Ravens, according to Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (article via NFPost.com).
Texans, Brian Hoyer Likely To Part Ways
In a tweet that should surprise no one, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the Texans and Brian Hoyer are “headed for a divorce” and that both sides are prepared for a fresh start. Hoyer’s stat line from 2015 does not look half bad, as he completed nearly 61% of his passes for 19 touchdowns against just seven interceptions while appearing in 11 contests for Houston. However, he did finish 20th in Football Outsiders’ DYAR metric, and it became apparent that the Texans would only go so far with Hoyer under center.
To that end, Houston signed free agent signal-caller Brock Osweiler to a four-year, $72MM deal when free agency opened, a contract that has generated a great deal of discussion among NFL writers and talking heads over the past several weeks. When Osweiler signed, Rapoport indicated that Hoyer was likely to be released, but Houston GM Rick Smith said just a couple of days later that Hoyer could well return to the team as a backup.
Of course, Smith’s comments may have been nothing more than an attempt to extract some sort of trade value out of Hoyer, as the team was reportedly looking to deal Hoyer immediately after agreeing to terms with Osweiler. If the Texans were to trade Hoyer, they would probably accept a sixth-round selection in return, but if they cannot find a trade partner, they could release him and save nearly $5MM of cap space (although Hoyer is set to enter the second year of a two-year deal he signed with Houston last season, no portion of his $4MM salary is guaranteed).
Rapoport’s latest report does not indicate whether the “divorce” between Hoyer and the Texans will come via trade or release, but it looks like a release is the more likely option at this point. Assuming Hoyer does receive his walking papers, the Broncos, Osweiler’s former employer, would be an obvious potential landing spot, and the Jets could also be a possibility (although New York still seems more likely to re-sign Ryan Fitzpatrick than to bring in another quarterback). Hoyer would, of course, be very attractive as a No. 2 quarterback for any number of teams, but the 30-year-old will of course prefer to sign with a club that could give him a chance to start.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Manny Ramirez To Visit Bears
Free agent offensive lineman Manny Ramirez will visit with the Bears, according to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune. Ramirez was traded from the Broncos to the Lions during last year’s draft in a deal that allowed Denver to move up and select Missouri pass rusher Shane Ray, but it was revealed last month that Ramirez would not return to the Lions for the upcoming season. Ramirez saw time in all 16 games this for Detroit in 2015, but he started only seven of those games as he was relegated to the bench in favor of younger interior linemen. He did, however, grade out as the league’s fourth-best center per Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), so there’s reason to believe that the 33-year-old could still have something left in the tank.
As Biggs observes, the Bears are seeking competition for second-year center Hroniss Grasu, whom Chicago selected in the third round of last year’s draft. Ramirez has also seen time at the left and right guard spots over the course of his career, so he could provide valuable depth along the interior of the Bears’ O-line even if he is unable to beat out Grasu for the starting center job.
Ramirez, who was actually drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2007 draft, signed with the Broncos in 2011 and spent four years in Denver under head coach John Fox, the current head coach of the Bears. Ramirez’s visit with Chicago appears to be his first of the offseason, and I would imagine any contract he signs at this point in his career would be a modest, one- or two-year pact.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Patrick Robinson To Visit Colts
9:46pm: It appears Robinson’s decision to switch agents may indeed push him away from the Cowboys, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Robinson will visit with the Colts tomorrow. Plus, the agreement that Conner negotiated with Dallas may now be off the table entirely, as Moore tweets that the two sides “had an agreement in principle until [Robinson] changed agents.” From the Colts’ perspective, Robinson would represent a quality replacement for Greg Toler, who could depart in free agency.
7:58pm: We heard earlier today that the Cowboys were wrapping up a three-year deal with free agent corner Patrick Robinson and that the deal would be consummated once Robinson resolved his “agent situation.” As it turns out, Robinson has actually switched agents. According to David Moore of The Dallas Morning News, club officials began discussions with Kevin Conner but have now been told that Ron Butler represents Robinson.
Dallas began negotiating with Conner before Robinson’s visit with the team, and the two sides had agreed in principle to the parameters of a three-year deal before Butler advised the Cowboys yesterday that he now represents Robinson. The reasons for the switch are unknown, and it is a little difficult to get a read on how the Dallas media contingent interprets this development.
While Moore couched his report a little pessimistically, opining that Robinson’s switch had thrown a wrench into the negotiations, Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says the team has no intention of changing the deal that Conner had negotiated for his former client (Twitter link). Hill, who also authored the above-referenced tweet from this morning indicating that the deal would be completed once Robinson sorts out his agent situation, seems to suggest that, as long as Butler does not try to dramatically alter the contractual framework that has already been put in place, a deal will get done. Todd Archer of ESPN.com, meanwhile, says that the switch is the reason for the delay, and that Robinson was expected to sign yesterday (Twitter links). The fact that Robinson has not yet signed, and the fact that the team had still not met with Butler as of Archer’s tweets several hours ago, indicate that there may still be some work to do.
Robinson, of course, is one of the best free agents still available. After spending the first five years of his career with the Saints, he appeared in all 16 of the Chargers’ games in 2015, including 10 starts, and he put up 49 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble. His play over 713 defensive snaps with the Bolts earned him a 30th-place ranking among corners at Pro Football Focus among 111 qualifiers. Robinson also played 31.7 percent of the Chargers’ special teams snaps. If he does ultimately wind up with the Cowboys, Brandon Carr‘s future in Dallas would be cast into greater doubt.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
NFC Notes: Norman, Megatron, Seahawks
We learned yesterday that Josh Norman and the Panthers are far apart in discussions on a new, multi-year contract, and if those negotiations do not start to gain traction, Norman could miss voluntary workouts and OTAs and possibly the mandatory June minicamp. But as David Newton of ESPN.com writes, Carolina GM Dave Gettleman downplayed that speculation, saying that he does not expect the Norman situation to create much of a distraction.
Said Gettleman, “Josh is a pro and I don’t think there’ll be any issues. He and I had a great conversation before I put the tag on him. He understands where I’m at. I understand where he’s at. We respect each other’s stance and we’ll just see if we can get [it] done.” Gettleman added that he and head coach Ron Rivera are “very comfortable” regardless of whether Norman signs a long-term deal with the Panthers prior to the July 15 deadline or whether he plays out the 2016 season under the franchise tag.
Now let’s take a look at some more links from around the NFC:
- There was some speculation earlier this month that Calvin Johnson wanted to retire as a free agent rather than under Lions control so that, in case he ever came out of retirement, he would be free to choose his next destination. Of course, Megatron ultimately retired as a member of the Lions, but according to Detroit president Rod Wood, it’s a moot point anyway, as he would be “very surprised” if Johnson ever expressed a desire to return to the NFL (video link via Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press).
- Seahawks GM John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll each signed three-year contract extensions in 2014 that take them through the 2016 season, which means they are both entering the final years of their respective deals. As Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com writes, however, Schneider says his contract is a “non-story.” Schneider said, “Pete and I have a great relationship, and we are just in a really good spot. We are just going to keep staying together and keep doing what we are doing and see how long we can make it last.” Kapadia believes the most likely scenario is that both men will sign extensions in the coming months, and we know that the club has already been working on a new deal for Carroll.
- The Seahawks‘ offensive line was the subject of a great deal of criticism in 2015, and it does not look like it will be much better in 2016. Per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times, Schneider has indicated that if the season started today, last year’s right tackle, Garry Gilliam, would compete with the newly-acquired Bradley Sowell to be the club’s starting left tackle, with another free agent acquisition, J’Marcus Webb, penciled in at right tackle. In addition to losing Russell Okung in free agency, the Seahawks also lost right guard J.R. Sweezy, but Schneider offered no indication that the team would pursue any additional signings or trades to beef up its line.
- Ralpha Vacchiano of The New York Daily News does not believe the Giants are done spending in free agency, and at the very least, he expects the team to pursue a veteran offensive lineman and a veteran safety. He does not, however, believe Big Blue will bring back Rueben Randle or Will Beatty.
- The 49ers have not made a contract offer to free agent wideout Anquan Boldin, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com, and while GM Trent Baalke said he has by no means closed the door on a possible reunion, he did not sound especially optimistic that Boldin would return to San Francisco next season. As Baalke said, “A lot of it is going to depend whether he feels and we feel it’s a fit moving forward with what we’re trying to do offensively and what he’s looking for at this stage of his career.” Boldin has already stated his desire to play for a title contender in 2016, and it is currently difficult to imagine the 49ers fitting that description.
Sunday Roundup: Okung, Lions, RGIII
Let’s take a look at some notes from around the league as the second wave of free agency starts to heat up:
- After meeting with Russell Okung today, the Steelers are scheduled to meet with free agent tackles Ryan Harris and Chris Hairston later this week, per a tweet from ESPN’s Adam Schefter (we had already heard about the Harris meeting, but the Hairston visit is a new development). Pittsburgh has a void at left tackle that it is seeking to fill, as Kelvin Beachum, who missed most of the 2015 campaign with a torn ACL, looks ready to sign elsewhere.
- The Lions have already had a visit with Okung, and while all reports seem to indicate that it was a positive meeting, Detroit remains in a holding pattern with the talented but oft-injured tackle. As Kyle Meinke of MLive.com writes, Detroit may have no other choice but to make a big-time offer for Okung, despite the risks, as the offensive line is in serious need of an upgrade and Okung is far and away the best talent still on the market.
- Darius Slay and Sam Martin are two members of the Lions‘ terrific 2013 draft class that could sign extensions with the club in the coming months, and as Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes, Theo Riddick is also open to an extension that would keep him in Detroit for the foreseeable future. No contract talks have taken place yet, but Riddick, who led all running backs with 80 receptions in 2015, could have a bigger role in the running game in 2016, and he could get a nice payday as a result.
- Birkett writes in a separate piece that new Lions GM Bob Quinn has done a nice job of patching holes on his team’s roster while steering clear of overpaying for mediocre talent, a common pitfall for first-time GMs. But Birkett also observes that the Lions are no better right now than they were last year, and Quinn will have to prove that his eye for young talent in the draft matches matches his prudence in free agency.
- Former NFL agent Joel Corry does not believe that the Jets have serious interest in Robert Griffin III, and he believes the team’s “pursuit” of RGIII is simply a leverage play staged for Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s benefit. If the team were to sign Griffin, Corry believes it would be a modest, one-year pact worth between $4MM-$5MM (Twitter link).
- Free agent safety Rashad Johnson was set to meet with the Titans on Friday, but per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, that visit has been pushed back to tomorrow (Twitter link).
- The Raiders appear to be trending upwards, and they have suddenly transformed from a last resort to a desired destination, as Jerry McDonald of InsideBayArea.com writes. Although the team lost out on Malik Jackson, who ultimately signed with the Jaguars, Oakland landed three major free agents–Kelechi Osemele, Bruce Irvin, and Sean Smith–just one year after being spurned by a number of its top free agent targets. As GM Reggie McKenzie said, “It’s good to see people call us and not always have to beg.” McDonald adds that McKenzie is not done spending–the team still has considerable cap space, after all–and the club’s free agent haul, combined with its talented young core, could propel the Raiders back to the playoffs in 2016.